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Pedro Strop, earlier this season some considered him the best set up man in baseball has had a rough August and September to put it kindly. August 11 IP 5 Earned runs, 5 BB, 9 hits 4.09 ERA... What stands out to me is walks + Hits + more than one runner per inning. September 1.2 IP, 3 earned runs, 5 BB, 4 hits, 16.20 ERA....again way to many baserunners.

Seems to me he is not missing the zone horribly, however his pitches have so much movement it is hard for the catcher to catch the ball with the glove in the horizontal position or in a natural position. So effectively he is getting less of t he "on the black" calls. Pitching behind in the count allows the batters to sit on his fastball.

If I were Buck I would use him very selectively for a couple of weeks to see if he can find the zone without finding so many bats. We have plenty of arms we can use in the 8th inning since the September call ups. There is no need to continue to place him in those tough games, or to bring him into a situation where there is already runners on base. Essentially I would give him a break so he is fresh for the last couple 7-10 days of the season.

dan72 wrote:Pedro Strop, earlier this season some considered him the best set up man in baseball has had a rough August and September to put it kindly. August 11 IP 5 Earned runs, 5 BB, 9 hits 4.09 ERA... What stands out to me is walks + Hits + more than one runner per inning. September 1.2 IP, 3 earned runs, 5 BB, 4 hits, 16.20 ERA....again way to many baserunners.

Seems to me he is not missing the zone horribly, however his pitches have so much movement it is hard for the catcher to catch the ball with the glove in the horizontal position or in a natural position. So effectively he is getting less of t he "on the black" calls. Pitching behind in the count allows the batters to sit on his fastball.

If I were Buck I would use him very selectively for a couple of weeks to see if he can find the zone without finding so many bats. We have plenty of arms we can use in the 8th inning since the September call ups. There is no need to continue to place him in those tough games, or to bring him into a situation where there is already runners on base. Essentially I would give him a break so he is fresh for the last couple 7-10 days of the season.

Think he's your typical voltaile reliever, but I like his upside. I'd keep him in that role until he plays out of it. After the Oakland debacle, many were questioning Jim Johnson after all. Yes, I'd give him a long leash. If he can't go, who should it be -- Matusz, Arrieta, O'Day?

Oriole85 wrote:After the Oakland debacle, many were questioning Jim Johnson

Johnson had been almost perfect until then so anyone questioning him was being unreasonable. Strop has been inconsistent for about two weeks over multiple appearances. SOMETHING is off and, while I can understand Buck wanting to be loyal to his players, the team has to come first. If Strop hasn't figured this out over the next two or three games then he needs to step aside voluntarily until he figures it out.

Matusz has greatly impressed me of late to the point where I would be comfortable handing him the ball as an eighth inning setup guy. I would leave O'Day where he is as a valuable guy who gets one plus innings in the sixth-seventh

birdwatcher55 wrote:Matusz has greatly impressed me of late to the point where I would be comfortable handing him the ball as an eighth inning setup guy. I would leave O'Day where he is as a valuable guy who gets one plus innings in the sixth-seventh

Walks leadoff batter, gets a gift pop out to the catcher on a failed bunt attempt by Olivo, gets lucky on a bad pick off attempt at 1B that hits off the 1B coach and keeps the runner at 1B, base runner at 1B steals 2B, then walks a batter he was ahead of 1-2.